Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh signed a $114.38 million contract with the Dolphins. (J Pat Carter, The Associated Press)

This year will go down as having one of the wildest NFL free-agent periods in recent history, with 153 total signings.

As The Post’s Mike Klis reported earlier this week, at least six teams were forced to spend big bucks to avoid a penalty because of the collective bargaining agreement.

The CBA that was agreed upon by the league and players in 2011 requires teams to reach a minimum salary-cap threshold (89 percent of cash spent) from 2013-16. Which meant the Jaguars, Raiders, Titans, Eagles, Browns and Jets had to hand out big contracts to players who may not have otherwise received such hefty paychecks.

But as surprising as some of those deals may have been, the total figures provided by the NFL Players’ Association for the 2015 free-agent period so far are more astounding. To wit:

$1,802,821,620

Total contract value of the 153 free-agent signings

$788,491,999

Total guaranteed money in the 153 free-agent signings

97

Unrestricted free agents who signed with new teams (guaranteed: $644,104,999; total value: $1,413,501,620)

56

Unrestricted free agents who re-signed with current teams (guaranteed: $144,387,000; total value: $389,320,000)

What’s up: This might be the best matchup among the NFL’s four first-round playoff games. That Suh gets to play is notable; the league initially suspended him from the playoff game after he stomped on the injured leg of Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week at Lambeau Field. Suh essentially won his appeal; he was fined $70,000 in lieu of a suspension.

Justin Bannan, a 16-game starter for the Broncos’ defense last year, will visit the Detroit Lions on Monday.

It’s been baffling how Bannan remains unemployed days before NFL teams begin training camp. Bannan, 34, is a defensive tackle who seems to be getting with age. He started one game through his first three NFL seasons; 10 through his first six. But he has 66 starts in his last five NFL seasons (counting playoffs), including 16 for the Broncos in 2010 and again last year.

The Broncos finished No. 2 in the NFL in total defense and No. 3 against the run.

The Broncos allowed Bannan to become a free agent and replaced him by drafting Sylvester Williams in the first round.

The Lions have a terrific, young defensive tackle tandem in Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. But Bannan, a former University of Colorado star, would give the Lions’ front more strength against the run.

Other teams have also communicated interest in Bannan but they want to first see how some of their younger defensive linemen perform in training camp.

But competition in the NFL is fierce. And quarterbacks rule the game. So Tom Brady and Eli Manning, by virtue of leading their teams to the Super Bowl, are now nipping at the paper heels of Tebow and Miller.

Can Michael Vick lead a star-studded Philadelphia Eagles team to the NFC championship game?

The Denver Post on Thursday will release a 16-page Broncos and NFL preview, breaking down team needs and John Elway’s vision for where the team will head. Find it in a special print section and online at denverpost.com/broncos.

Their offensive plans, which now include QB Kevin Kolb throwing to a $120 million receiver in Larry Fitzgerald, took a hit when RB Ryan Williams suffered a ruptured tendon in his knee in the preseason. Their two-deep is a huge question mark. Former Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson tore a biceps tendon, and they lack a top-shelf pass rusher. Prediction: 9-7

St. Louis Rams

They have a potential franchise QB in Sam Bradford, who was cocooned in two-tight end and two-back looks last season as a rookie, but will not have that luxury this year in Josh McDaniels’ more open formations. They haven’t shown they can protect their most prized player in this preseason, and their run defense is an enormous question mark. Prediction: 6-10

By virtue of not only having the No. 2 overall draft pick (OLB Von Miller), but two picks in the second round (FS Rahim Moore, RT Orlando Franklin), the Broncos were allocated an NFL-high $44 million to sign their nine draft picks, according to an NFL source.

While $44 million is tops, consider that Ndamukong Suh got $60 million all by himself as the No. 2 draft pick in 2010.

Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow has yet to throw a pass in an NFL game, but he is already No. 1 in the league in at least one category.

The rookie, one of the two first-round picks for the Broncos in this past April’s draft, had the league’s top-selling jersey between April 1 and June 30. The figures were tabulated only for merchandise sold on the league’s website — NFLShop.com.

Tebow was the only Broncos’ player among the top 25. Currently he is the Broncos’ No. 3 quarterback behind Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn.

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who was the second pick of the April draft, was the only other rookie among the top 10 sellers. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was the other rookie among the top 15.

Tebow’s power to pull people to cash registers won’t help the Broncos’ bottom line more than any other team in the league since the NFL’s 32 teams currently divide all merchandise revenue evenly, but it does show Tebow’s star power is substantial even before he has appeared in a regular-season game.

Former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall, now with Miami, was at No. 16 on the list.

INDIANAPOLIS — The defensive backs just wrapped up their workouts at Lucas Oil Field this afternoon, putting a tidy bow on this year’s NFL scouting combine and the Broncos as well as everyone else in the NFL came away with some clear impressions about this year’s draft class.

–This was as prepared a group of players, as a whole, that has ever worked out at the combine. It’s rare anyone shows up out of shape or not ready to go. So much so that the few healthy players who chose not to work out may have hurt themselves in some teams’ eyes.

Even a player like quarterback Dan LeFevour, who elected not to throw to moving receivers, has even a little more to prove on his pro day.

–Teams, like the Broncos, looking for help in the offensive and defensive lines, have a quality draft board to peruse. There is depth in both areas and teams will find productive players deep into the selection weekend.

The groups are led by defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy, who dazzled scouts both on the field and in the team interviews.

–After Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford the quarterback picture is still unclear. There is still room for one or two to move up on the boards.

–Speed still thrills. The buzz this afternoon was all about USC safety Taylor Mays, who blistered the 40-yard dash. Some scouts had him at 4.28 or 4.26 — hand-timed — after he had tipped the scales at over 230 pounds.

Even the most jaded of scouts was still talking about Mays as they made their way back to their downtown hotels.

Indianapolis–Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston, who is a Doherty High School graduate in Colorado Springs, was once a “275-pound running back” and now finds himself in a deep class of defensive tackles in this year’s draft.

But Houston played both defensive end and defensive tackle in the Longhorns’ defense which is why 3-4 teams like the Broncos have him on their radar.

Most years Houston would be getting plenty of attention, it’s just this year two of the top players in the draft — Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy — are also defensive tackles.

Suh and McCoy also played in the Big 12.

“I love being under the radar,” Houston said Saturday. “A lot of guys under the radar, that’s a good thing for them, there’s less scrutiny. Playing behind those two guys it’s an honor to play in a conference with those guys. Being overlooked doesn’t bother me at all.’’

At 6-2 3/4 Houston may be slightly shorter than some teams would prefer as a 3-4 defensive end, but Houston played in 42 games at Texas, starting 32 so they have plenty to look at to grade his play.

“A lot of teams want to play some 3-4, they want to play some 4-3,” Houston said. “If they have a guy out there who can just stay in there and not have to pick up a guy who’s a defensive end and pick up a guy who’s a defensive tackle, that they can pick up a guy who can do both would benefit them more. I think versatility just helps anybody in the draft.’’

And it will certainly help him.

Comments Off on Texas DT Lamarr Houston sees a 3-4 defense in his future

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.